Tolkien Long Defeat

Fighting the Long Defeat?

Spend some time scrolling through dissident Twitter, particularly those corners favored by more traditional Catholics, and you'll soon run across references to J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Both are the subject of myriad BrainyQuotes and, especially in Tolkien's case, movie still memes. There's no denying that the works of these…
May 1, 20246 Comments
Richard Dawkins by Tom Jamieson

New Atheist, Cultural Christian

The man who was perhaps the most notorious purveyor of the New Atheist movement back in the aughts has dropped a bombshell in a recent interview. A famous atheist and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins explained he identifies as a "cultural Christian" in an interview after learning Ramadan lights were hung…
April 3, 202413 Comments
Christ's Resurrection

The Best-Attested Miracle

Throughout salvation history, a key litmus test of a prophet's authenticity was whether his ministry was divinely attested with the occurrence of supporting miracles. Neither the presence or absence of signs and wonders were considered definitive. But if someone claiming to be God's representative received backup for his claims from…
April 1, 20243 Comments
Christ's Crucifixion

Christ Is King

And the whole multitude of them rising up, led him to Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying: We have found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he is Christ the king. And Pilate asked him, saying: Art thou the…
March 29, 20249 Comments
Family Living

Pay a Living Wage: Challenge Impossible!

A reader writes: I read your latest post on usury and Catholic Social Teaching, and ended up in an argument with someone who claimed that it is impossible for every job to pay a Living Wage, and that the Catechism's words must therefore be interpreted as "everyone must have the…
March 13, 20247 Comments
Irish Anti-Family Referendum 1

Irish Anti-Family Referendum Defeated

A referendum that would have replaced the Irish constitution's recognition of the family's basis in marriage with accretions involving other "durable relationships" suffered overwhelming defeat on Saturday. The ballot count shows that the anti-family referendum was rejected by 67.7 percent of Irish voters. The overall Referendum Returning Officer Barry Ryan…
March 12, 20248 Comments
Nintendo vs Sony

The Riddle of the Pop Cult

Author JD Cowan wrote a post yesterday that shed new light on elements of Cultural Ground Zero and the Pop Cult and showed how they're interrelated. So it was of course fitting that he prominently featured this now-ubiquitous image by retro artist Rachid Lotf. We've been plumbing the riddle of…
February 23, 202419 Comments
SCOTUS

State Steals Catholic Couple’s Son

Pope Francis' comparison of the societal threat posed by gender ideology to the danger of nuclear weapons has proven prophetic again. The Catholic parents of a mentally troubled teenage boy taken by the State of Indiana are appealing to the Supreme Court. In M.C. and J.C. v. Indiana Department of…
February 22, 202411 Comments
Millennials’ Spiritual Affliction

Millennials’ Spiritual Affliction

Last week's testimony from a reader who's experienced strange nocturnal visions drew overwhelming comment. Based on the flood of responses, it appears that Millennials' spiritual affliction may be a real phenomenon that bears more investigation. The following are samples of reports from the comments and from X. I used to…
February 19, 202413 Comments
strange church

Strange Characters Showing up at Mass

A Twitter mutual and brother in Christ passes along this personal account. Spiritual battle, high strangeness, or flight of fancy? You decide. I had a very vivid dream last night. I dream fairly regularly, but every once in a while I have one that’s different from the rest & usually…
February 16, 20247 Comments